Blood Bowl

About this board game

Blood Bowl is a two-player board game released in 1986, combining American football, rugby, and all-out war in matches that last around 120 minutes.

Played on a gridded football pitch, it adapts core combat and psychology rules from the Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader systems. The result is a distinctive blend of knockabout skirmish battle and sports simulation, with football actions such as kicking and throwing integrated alongside combat.

The first edition includes 115 cardboard figures representing a range of teams and characters, allowing players to get straight into the game. The included forces feature humans, dwarfs, ogres, orcs, dark elves, trolls, and troglodytes, while optional metal Citadel Miniatures were released separately.

• Players: 2
• Play time: 120 minutes
• Release year: 1986
• Core elements: kicking, throwing, combat, injuries, team composition, and tournament rules

Blood Bowl also received expansions and supporting material through White Dwarf and the Blood Bowl: Death Zone expansion. Featured additions include the Skaven Team, pass interference, chainsaws, and pit traps, broadening the game’s football-meets-fantasy-battle identity.

With its combination of team composition, pitch-based movement, physical confrontation, and tournament rules, Blood Bowl offers a football game shaped by the combat systems of its fantasy wargaming roots.